Safeguarding Asuna
by SoundPulse
Summary: Kirito is playing a newly released VRMMO until he is interrupted by a strange message and instantly becomes worried about Asuna while she's out of town in the real world. There are many obstacles that lay in both their paths. Will they reunite? is Kirito worrying for nothing? Or will it be another episode of Kirito saving his beloved, Asuna? (Set directly after the 2nd arc)
1. Where it all begins!

**Hey guys/girls of FanFiction, I'm new to creative writing and even newer to writing fan fiction as this is my first one. I hope to continue this story as I really enjoyed the plot and relationship between Kirito and Asuna but the continuation is solely depending on your feedback! (See at the bottom after reading)**

**Enjoy!**

An unordinary message is sent to the pre-occupied Kirito while in battle within the new VRMMO released for the NerveGear. Upon completion of the dungeon Kirito calls out to Yui, who was sleeping previously.

"Hey Yui, I need you to wake up and help me" Kirito said showing guilt for waking her. "Sorry to wake you early, I'm a little worried about this message. Did you have a good rest?"

"Of course, it was perfect because I was with you, Daddy!" Yui replies in a sweet voice, excusing the guilt Kirito set on himself.

"I'm glad. I was wondering what was wrong with this message, I can't open it. Could you help?"

"Let me see" Yui climbs out of Kirito's pocket and flies to his arm and reads his message menu. "This isn't a message sent from the game. It's not from the Nervegear platform at all. You'll have to log out and read your e-mail on your computer, Daddy."

"Do you think it's important? I've never seen something like this before." Kirito has a sense of worry in his voice which Yui notices immediately.

"If your Nervegear received it and it's only an email then it's probably important, Daddy. Don't worry though because you and Mommy are the strongest team! Nothing can beat you." Yui replies in effort to calm the worry of Kirito.

"Thanks Yui, I guess I needed to hear that. Let's head to town, then I'll go and check it out, I can't help but feel like something is wrong with Asuna though, like there's a enchantment on the message which gives me this constant worry about her."

"Mommy is hurt?" Yui worries "What's the matter with Mommy!? Is she OK, Daddy!?"

"No, no, she's perfectly fine" Kirito says, trying to convince himself as well as Yui "it's just.. I have a weird feeling that the message is about her and I'm just worried about her, I haven't seen her for a while because she's out of town in the real world."

"I'm glad. It's good to hear Mommy is OK. I haven't seen her in a while either" The weeping in her voice now replaced primarily with happiness "Let's go Daddy, you need to check on Mommy! Oh and Daddy, if there is somebody upsetting Mommy I want you to go kick their butt OK?" she teases though serious.

Yui returns to Kirito's pocket with her head out to see the trip.

Approximately 5 minutes away from town, Kirito is almost gasping for air as he rushes increasingly faster towards the town. Suddenly an image flashes in Kirito's head of Suguo Nobuyuki and the night at the hospital, he comes to a stop almost instantly, not sure of what just happened. In the confusion Kirito notices a red, hooded figure in the corner of his eye, stood leering at him by a tree who flees at the returned sight of Kirito. By the time Kirito reached the tree the rogue-like figure was gone.

"YUI WHO.. WAS THAT!?" Kirito shouts while still recovering his breath.

"Be careful Daddy that wasn't a registered player! It wasn't an NPC eith-" Yui is cut off mid-sentence by Kirito drawing his blade, Elucidator "..er" she adds.

"Yui, I want you to scan the area and see if that thing was alone and see if you can find out what's going on!" Kirito commands, the sense of fear more dominant in his voice now.

"Already on it, Daddy" a short silence draws while Yui scans the area. "...Daddy you need to run, quickly!" Yui shouts concerned and worried.

"Why, what is it? What's going on? Who's there" Kirito spurts out, the fear now controlling him like a spell.

"The person you saw isn't a player, NPC or anything that should be here, Daddy! It's a hacker in the game, he'll cheat and kill you, Daddy! RUN!" Yui screams with tears in her eyes.

"There will be **_NO_** running, Mr Kirigaya. I want you to listen to the sound of my voice for a moment." A faint, distant yet oddly familiar voice calls out.

"WHO OR WHAT ARE YOU!? WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME!? HOW DO YOU KNOW ME BY MY REAL WORLD NAME!?" Kirito yells in a single breath, on the brink of insanity partially due to only recently recovering from sprinting towards town.

"Now, now Mr. Kirigaya there is no need to shout, please clam down, we're both friends here. _here_.." the _rogue_ says, still distant yet drifting towards Kirito like a dreary, descending mist.

Yui notices the shaking of Kirito's sword and body and climbs out of his pocket and takes a stance to access the admin panel of the game.

"HAHAHA. You really think I'd let your dumb little fairy access the admin controls while I'm here?" Says the voice hastily "Have you really not figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out!?" Kirito retorts "that you're a hacking psychopath!?"

"No, Mr. Kirigaya. Have you not figured out who I am, is what I was asking."

"I don't care what you're asking _or_ who you are! Show yourself!"

The hooded, rogue-like figure emerges from the twisted tree-line. The hooded robes on it's body are a brighter red than before. As the rogue passes each tree they bend in an archway descending above him. The figure walks towards Kirito, slowly, Then stops. The figure now stood metres away from Kirito, leaving him and Yui staring into the darkness of a void, where a face should be.

"EAAAAAH!" Kirito roars as he strikes the rogue without hesitation, attacking with a single blow from his Elucidator. The sword shatters, and what seems like a cry or scream emerges from the rogue followed by a brief light which temporarily blinds Kirito.

Kirito falls to the ground in panic and confusion, dropping his sword by the rogue. A few moments pass before the blindness wears off.

Kirito rubs his eyes and shakes his head. As he stands up he notices something on the floor and walks closer to analyse the item where the rogue was standing before. Kirito wipes himself down, cleaning his coat of mud while looking at the item. Kirito's arm stops and his legs become uneasy

"Daddy, what's wro-" Yui stops mid sentence as she understands the hesitation "Mo..mmy? Is that.. Mommy, Daddy" hesitating in dismay between words.

Without saying a word, Kirito fell to his knees by the picture. The same laugh the rogue produces minutes ago was materializing quietly, like an echo, from the picture. Kirito let out a loud cry with his head sunk into the ground.

Kirito picked up his broken Elucidator and used the game menu to replace it with his secondary sword, Dark Repulser, previously forged in Sword Art Online by Lisbeth, the blacksmith.

"Yui. we're going now" Kirito says in a whisper, wiping the tears from his face. "We have to be strong for Mommy, Yui. Always remember that."  
He stood up, opposed to the will of his body and mind which just wanted to fall back down to the floor and cry. Kirito dragged himself to the town with the last bit of hope he had and the only thing on his mind, safeguarding Asuna.

**Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoyed reading this and I'm sorry if this is too long or too short. Like I mentioned this is my first fan fiction so formatting, size of paragraphs/speech and stuff like that are a case of reading other fan fictions and taking a guess. I'll stop rambling about that anyway. I'd like you to leave me some feedback, suggestions and/or constructive criticism, whether you liked it or hated it please tell me, and give me ways to improve for the future. I have a lot of ideas for this story and if you guys like what I'm writing I'll definitely carry on writing.  
****Thanks again. -Jaakey**


	2. The journey begins!

**This chapter ventures into the anime, using names and places from it. I suggest completing the anime at least before reading or some of the chapter may be confusing.**

**A note I'd like to make before you read this is that I change the name of Kirito/Kazuto to suit his placement. While inside Nervegear I will refer to him as Kirito and while in the real world I will refer to him as Kazuto. I also use the names Klein and Agil for those two characters in both worlds rather than their real names in the real world. ****Sorry if this brings about any confusion. I hope you e****njoy!**

Kirito reaches the town and and mumbles goodbye to Yui, still startled about what just happened - his mind racing trying to match a face to the voice he heard.

"Goodbye Daddy, make sure Mommy is OK! Tell her to come visit!" Yui demands.

He logs out of the game and in the real world he is laid on his bed.

_'It's dark already? Should I really bother her at a time this late?'_ He questions himself. _'I'm sure she won't mind, I need to know she's OK.'_

Kazuto removes the Nervegear from his head, placing it on his stomach. He reaches for his phone which is on the nightstand adjacent to his bed. He unlocks his phone and almost let it fall from his hands upon noticing he has 4 missed calls from Asuna. His heart drops and he races to call her number, his body shaking in agony of the thought of losing or upsetting her.

"Hey this is Asuna, leave a message!" The voice-mail of Asuna requests.

Kazuto ends the call grinding his teeth, then dials the number again. Her voice-mail intercepts again and Kazuto slams his phone back on the nightstand.

_'I'm sure she's fine, she's probably just tired from working with her father. I'm sure.. I'm sure.' _Kazuto repeats, trying to convince himself._ 'I can't worry too much even if it is killing me on the inside. She's strong, she can fight for herself if somebody does show up.'_

Kazuto shakes his head to try and focus on the present and extinguish the ongoing worry for Asuna built up in his head. He swings his body round and sits on the edge of the bed. The Nervegear falls from his stomach but is caught mid-air before hitting the ground. He lets out a sigh of relief and places the Nervegear behind him on the bed.

"Hey Suguha, are you home?" Kazuto shouts, projecting his voice across the whole house.

The door opens and Suguha walks in with a phone to her ear. She insists for Kazuto to be quiet by doing some hand shakes and waves unknown to him, he grasps to basis of what she meant and nods while showing her a thumb up and a smile.

Suguha disappears out of the room, closing the door behind her.

_'Since I have the time, I'll check the computer for that e-mail I got, Suguha usually takes a while on the phone anyway.'_

Kazuto stands up, stretches and yawns before proceeding to his computer. He removes the Nervegear wires from the computer and puts them, along with the Nervegear away in his cupboard.

He sits down at the computer and logs into his e-mail account.

_'Huh? There isn't an e-mail here that matches the message in-game.'_ To his confusion, the message he received while inside the Nervegear was not sent to his e-mail. _'Must have been that hacking rogue playing tricks to make me walk into his ambush.'_

"Don't tell him?.. But why?.. OK I won't.. bye." Kazuto hears the echo of Suguha finishing her phone call and walks towards his door yawning again.

He opens his door and glances down the hallway to see Suguha stood uneasily using the wall for support, discomfort visibly spread across her body.

"Suguha, Are you OK?" He asks in a calm, but concerned voice. "What's the matter? Bad news?"

Suguha turns and stares at Kazuto momentarily before running and hugging him tightly. A brief moment of confusion for Kazuto passes and Suguha breaks the hug then stares into his eyes.

"It was Asuna. Her dad was attacked and injured, he got sent to the hospital and she's worried." Suguha weeps. "She thinks it's somebody targeting her, and you."

"What!? Is she OK? Who's targeting her?" Kazuto shouts in an outcry, the previous worry now becoming anger. "...Suguha tell me!"

Kazuto's arms no longer in formation of an arch for a hug but clutching firmly to Suguha's upper arms in a subconscious attempt to hurt her, trying to get the information out of her in a surge.

"She told me not to tell you in case you got angry, but I can't keep it from you." Tears rolling from her eyes. "She said it was... Suguo Nobuyuki."

Kazuto releases Suguha's arms. He stands frozen in place as a flashback of the event in the Nervegear appeared within his head. The words _'sound of my voice'_ echoing inside his head, realizing who was behind everything that happened.

_'So it was you, Nobuyuki, I knew I recognized that voice. But how?.. you're in jail.' His mind now racing again, faster than ever._

"The psychopath from Alfheim Online!?" Kazuto interrogates further, still stood without moving, looking straight through her while questioning.

"I think so, that's why I couldn't keep it a secret from you." More tears now racing down her face.

Kazuto breaks free from his motionless trance to look deep into Suguha's eyes signifying the importance of what he was about to say.

"Suguha, I need you to ring Klein and Agil for me, tell them to meet at the Dicey Cafe at 9:30. Their numbers are on the side in the kitchen." Kazuto asks, almost in despair. "After that I want you to stay indoors and stay safe, keep your kendo with you at all times. There are some bad people trying to kill me, Asuna and those we love. I'm going to stop them and save Asuna."

Kazuto rushes back into his room without awaiting an answer from Suguha, he changes into an attire similar to his appearance in SAO, consisting of a jet black hooded coat and pants, a black backpack which had something packed within it previously and finally a watch he had received from Asuna the night before she went out of town.

He makes his way to the kitchen and receives a nod from Suguha implying she made the calls. He walks to her in a few, long strides and grasps her close to him, holding her.

"Suguha, I'm sorry. About everything. I didn't want it to happen this way, I love you." Hugging her tightly, almost suffocating her, tears slowly pouring down his face and falling into her hair.

Suguha hugs him back briefly then pushes him away. "Kazuto, snap out of it, none of this is your fault, don't apologize. Go save Asuna, she needs you!"

He wipes away the tears and throws up the hood on his coat. He gives her another brief hug and a smile. "Goodbye Suguha, If I don't make it hom-"

"Goodbye Kazuto." She interrupts. "Make sure you bring Asuna home soon, I'll make some food for us and we'll visit her father."

They smile at each other before Kazuto exits the house.

He starts his journey to the Dicey Cafe through the ill lit, damp and almost forlorn streets, images of Asuna smiling and laughing flooding his head. He checks the time, it's 9:22 already and he's still far from the Cafe. He decides to take a shortcut down an alley, blending into the darkness of the saddened streets with the obscurity of his attire.

"Hey, kid, aren't you dressed a little black?" An obscured, deep toned voice in front of Kazuto asks. "Isn't it past your bedtime by now, are you lost or something?"

Laughing emerges from atop the walls of the alley. Kazuto almost falls backwards, shuddering at the sight of more than fifteenth silhouetted thugs flaunting their weapons. Smirking, laughing, their faces hidden by the darkness. Kazuto starts to tremble in fear, retreating in small steps until his backward path is blocked.

"Going somewhere, kid?" A thug asks from behind him, making him jump forward in terror.

"P-please, I n-need to save somebody." Kazuto pleads, struggling to speak. "D-Don't make me fight you. I-I don't want to harm any of you."

"Awww he's a - _'super-kid'_!" The previous, deep toned voice mocks. "Let him go boys, or else he'll use his super powers on us!"

The laughing still lingering within the walls, Kazuto knows he isn't safe yet but he let a breath of relief escape as the thugs step aside, opening a path for him. He starts walking hesitantly through the wayward alley.

He walks for five seconds, he gets roughly twenty meters distance between him and the thugs, not looking behind him ever once, fearing what will happen if he does. His heartbeat almost back to normal as he calms down seeing the exit of the alley, the ill light now a luminous wonderland of safety.

Suddenly he hears a stampede of footsteps behind him, he turns around sharply to see silhouettes and shadows of the thugs charging at him, weapons glaring from the little light available in the dark, foreboding alley.


End file.
